Polish September Campaign
Adolf Hitler was still not satisfied after his victory at Czechoslovokia, and he set his sights on his next target, Poland. The British and the French expected this Poland to be Hitlers next target, and promised them reinforcements should it happen. Hitler organized a border dispute, having German prisoners dressed in Polish military uniforms, then ordered them to be shot. He declared this an act of Polish aggression on German soil, and announced he would be throwing all the armed might of Germany at the attacking nation, thus starting World War II. The attack began on September 1st, from land, air and sea. The first signs of battle were sighted at Danzig in the Polish Corridor, which cuts East Prussia off from the Reich. Polish control of the port was a source of resenment to the Germans, and Hitler saw it a symbolic value in its repossession. Earlier, a German training ship known as the Schleswig-Holstein had docked at Danzig,claiming to be there for sight-seeing. When Hitler gave the orders, it opened fire on the port. Meanwhile, as the sun came over the horizon, squadrons of Hitlers High-Level bombers entered Poland, reducing the Polish rear to rubble. They destroyed most Polish air bases, hangers, fuel dumps, railroad stations, barracks, radio stations, bridges, and munition factories. Near the borders Junker-87 dive bombers, known as Stukas, proved to be a fearsome weapon. Besides it's firepower, sirens were fitted on to it that created a screaming racket as they dived down, making it sound as if it was coming right for you. Next came the Motorcycles, armoured cars and tanks, followed closely by the armoured infantry and panzer divisions. They stormed through the Polish lines and disrupted communications and Polish troops. Soon German mobile units had the Polish army spread out in fragments. The streets crowded with civilians looking to escape, desperate soldiers, nervous horses and broken down vehicles. The polish lack of modern weaponry proved to be one of their downfalls. Polish calvery were unable to stand the mass of German tanks and were defeated. The weather blessed the attackers, for it was sunny and clear skies almost everyday, which German soldiers named Hitler weather. After only a few days of battle, the Poles were beat back, and were faced with a tough decision. They could send their troops to stand all along the fronteir, taking the blunt force of the attack and spacing our their army. They could also take a more cautious route and defend a natural line, which would mean abandoning the western provinces, the richest part of Poland, including it's caol mines and most of its industry.They decided to fight initially on the Frontier, but then move back to the Natural Line, while employing counter attacks. The goal was to hold the invaders off until Britsh and French troops could arrive. The plan failed though, and in three days the Germans pushed through the defense. Refugees retreated all the way to the capital, Warsaw. The government and High Command had left the country, leaving an odyssey that would take the top military and Civilian leaders into Romania, which had not joined the Axis nations yet. All those who were able to battle lifted arms and prepared to fight off the Germans. Yet all hope was lost when Stalin sent a large amount of Russain troops into the undefended Eastern Fronteir of Poland to claim what he had been promised in his pack with Hitler. It was not long until the combined forces of Germany and Russia overwhelemed the remaining Polish defenders, and they were defeated.